A third of power from wind as UK hits new 'green' highs

The amount of wind power generated in Britain reached new record highs on Saturday as the ‘mini Beast from the East’ swept in, National Grid has confirmed.

The new ‘green’ record on St Patrick’s Day saw onshore and offshore wind turbines generate more than a third of British electricity, as it delivered 14.2 gigawatts of power at 2.30pm in the stormy conditions.

The figure is well above the previous record of 13.9 gigawatts of electricity from wind. It meant that wind power was supplying 34.2 per cent of British electricity at that time, while over the day as a whole the renewable technology accounted for some 35.7 per cent of supplies.

National Grid said the increase in renewable generation posed an ‘exciting challenge’ for the system operator in balancing supply and demand.

Fintan Slye, director of the system operator at National Grid said: ‘We now have significant volumes of renewable energy on the system and as this trend continues, our ability to forecast and manage this is becoming more and more important.

‘We have an expert team of forecasters, analysts and engineers who monitor a range of data, to forecast just how much electricity will be needed by consumers and how this is matched by generation available from renewable and other sources.’

He added: ‘2017 was a record year for green energy and it’s looking likely 2018 is set to exceed that. We are excited about the progress being made and looking forward to ensuring it is delivered safely and securely to our customers across Great Britain.’

Wind industry body RenewableUK’s executive director Emma Pinchbeck said: ‘Yet again, wind is playing a key role in keeping Britain going during a cold spell. When the mini Beast from the East struck on Saturday, over a third of the UK’s electricity was being generated by wind.

‘We’re harnessing a reliable, home-grown source of power which reduces our dependence on imports to maintain the security of our energy supplies.’